We see the future of cars – and they’re connected

Bradley Walker

In the 1880s, the first telephones connected our homes via a switchboard network. In the 1960s, the first consumer modems connected your computer to other computers at blistering speeds of 300 bit/s. In the ‘70s, early GPS systems connected us to satellites in the sky. What do these things have in common?

For context, a 300 bit/s connection speed would enable you to download a single Netflix movie in about 460 days. But, that’s beside the point – what did all these inventions have in common?

They were all connected platforms that enabled the exchange of diverse information between multiple brands of devices – that is precisely what we have built with HERE Connected Vehicle Services (CVS).

Today’s vehicles are capable of producing terabytes of information on a daily basis. That information includes details of the car’s environment, like speed, objects in proximity, weather conditions, and images of the roadway. That information also includes the functions contained within the car, like windshield wipers, anti-lock brakes, traction control, fuel efficiency, and quite a few more.

Once analyzed, that information has value to other drivers and other cars on the road. Intelligent collection, analysis, and distribution of that information is what we’ve set out solve with our services, and it represents a revolution in connected vehicles.

This combination of rich vehicle sensor data, location context, and leading software technology gives us the ability to create a rich, fresh picture of the roadway. Our services provide drivers and their vehicles the information they need to make better decisions on the road. From alerts on upcoming hazards that could affect their journey, to the location of the nearest parking spot to their destination, our connected services deliver deeply valuable insights to drivers and their vehicles, so they can travel confidently.

What services do they enable? We’ll be sharing in-depth details about each service in the coming weeks, but here is a sample.

When cars connect with other cars, they can collectively provide a picture of where, when and why traffic congestion occurs, resulting in a high-quality flow of content of conditions and incidents in near real-time.

To make this scalable and sustainable, the service has been built to ingest information from multiple different types of vehicles. To prove that scalability, HERE Real-Time Traffic is the first global service in the marketplace that integrates live vehicle data from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles. That collective, connected information enables drivers and cars to make smarter routing decisions.

Hazard Warnings is a real-time, cloud-based information distribution service which, like Real-Time Traffic, gathers rich vehicle sensor data from multiple car brands. That information is then analyzed and intelligently distributed to all other connected-vehicles in the area, alerting them of conditions that may require caution or action.

Information like road accidents, stalled vehicles and reduced visibility is delivered in seconds, rather than minutes. That information can be delivered into any vehicle’s infotainment systems, or to smartphone/tablet apps, making it a platform-agnostic information distribution network.

That information informs a driver about fluctuating conditions of the road ahead – beyond the car’s sensors. It also enables ADAS systems like Adaptive Cruise Control, which uses the road speed limit (among other things) to determine how the car speed on a crowded highway.

Phones, Modems, GPS … and your car

A revolution of connected cars is coming fast, and HERE is a one-stop shop for the location based services that enables those cars to exchange important information.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be discussing more about HERE Connected Vehicle Services, and HERE Safety Services. Check back soon to learn how connected cars will change the world.